PSP Go teardown reveals expensive slider, replaceable battery

The PSPgo hardware has gotten torn apart and analyzed, with some interesting …

What a fun job: grab brand new electronic devices, and then take them apart. iFixit has posted a teardown of the PSP Go, and as usual they have found some interesting details of the hardware.

For instance, the battery is user-replaceable, although it sounds like something of a pain to remove. "All that stands between you is seven screws and the careful peeling of the Warranty Void sticker. You don't even need a soldering iron—the battery has its own connector to the logic board." There you go!

The reason for making sure the battery is packed into the system's internals? Piracy. The original PSP had a battery that could be removed and replaced via a simple plastic door, and the hardware was used to introduce an exploit that allowed custom firmware.

iFixit also noted that the sliding mechanism increased the unit's price. "The sliding mechanism complicates the overall design and increases the manufacturing cost of the PSP Go," they wrote. "Still, the pricing puts it within $50 of PS3 Slim territory, although the PS3 is not a direct competitor. It will be interesting to see if this price is a deal breaker for hand-held gamers."